Manhattan Merry-Go-Round is an NBC musical variety radio program that was broadcast from November 6, 1932, until April 17, 1949. The musical revue was produced by Frank and Anne Hummert. Sponsored by Dr. Lyon's Tooth Powder, [1] the radio series was adapted by Frank Hummert and producer Harry Sauber into a 1937 musical comedy feature film for Republic Pictures.
The program simulated visits to New York night clubs. In a similar format to Your Hit Parade , the top eight tunes of the week (a ranking based on the sales figures for records and sheet music) were performed by the orchestras of Andy Sannella and Victor Arden, with a line-up of vocalists that included Barry Roberts, Glenn Cross, Marian McManus and Thomas L. Thomas. The announcers were Ford Bond and Roger Krupp. The director was Paul Dumont. [1]
The program began on November 6, 1932, on the NBC Blue Network, broadcast at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoons. On April 9, 1933, it moved to the NBC Red Network, airing Sunday evenings at 9 p.m., when it was heard in the same hour as the Hummerts' other music program, The American Album of Familiar Music . [1]
Charles Reisner directed the 1937 film, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction by John Victor Mackay. [2]
The Voice of Firestone was a radio and television program of classical music. The show featured leading singers in selections from opera and operetta. Originally titled The Firestone Hour, it was first broadcast on the NBC Radio network on December 3, 1928 and was later also shown on television starting in 1949. The program was last broadcast in 1963.
Lowell Jackson Thomas was an American writer, broadcaster, and traveler, best remembered for publicising T. E. Lawrence. He was also involved in promoting the Cinerama widescreen system. In 1954, he led a group of New York City-based investors to buy majority control of Hudson Valley Broadcasting, which, in 1957, became Capital Cities Television Corporation.
The Blue Network was the on-air name of a now defunct American radio network, which broadcast from 1927 through 1945.
Benjamin Anzelevitz, known professionally as Ben Bernie, was an American jazz violinist, bandleader, and radio personality, often introduced as "The Old Maestro". He was noted for his showmanship and memorable bits of snappy dialogue, being part of the first generation of "stars" of American popular music, alongside other artists such as Paul Whiteman, Ted Lewis and Al Jolson.
Easy Aces is an American serial radio comedy (1930–1945). It was trademarked by the low-keyed drollery of creator and writer Goodman Ace and his wife, Jane, as an urbane, put-upon realtor and his malaprop-prone wife. A 15-minute program, airing as often as five times a week, Easy Aces did not draw as strong ratings as other 15-minute serial comedies such as Amos 'n' Andy, The Goldbergs, Lum and Abner, or Vic and Sade but its unobtrusive, conversational, and clever style, and the cheerful absurdism of its storylines, built a loyal enough audience of listeners and critics alike to keep it on the air for 15 years.
The year 1937 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting history.
Walter Connolly was an American character actor who appeared in almost 50 films from 1914 to 1939. His best known film is It Happened One Night (1934).
The American Album of Familiar Music is a radio program of popular music broadcast from October 11, 1931, to June 20, 1954, first on NBC, then on ABC and finally on local stations. Directed by James Haupt, the show was produced by Frank and Anne Hummert, better remembered today for creating Ma Perkins and numerous other soap operas.
Anne Hummert was the leading creator of daytime radio serials or soap opera dramas during the 1930s and 1940s, responsible for more than three dozen series.
The Carnation Contented Hour was a long-running radio music series, sponsored by the Carnation Milk Company, which premiered April 26, 1931 on the regional NBC West Coast network. The full network series began January 4, 1932, on the Blue Network and was broadcast for two decades until its final broadcast on CBS December 30, 1951.
Amanda of Honeymoon Hill is a 15-minute daily radio soap opera produced by Frank and Anne Hummert. Broadway actress Joy Hathaway had the title role, sometimes described as "the beauty of flaming red hair." The series was broadcast from February 5, 1940, until April 26, 1946, initially on the Blue Network at 3:15 p.m. until August 1942. It then moved to CBS, airing at 10:30 a.m. until 1943 when it was heard at 11 a.m.
David Ford Bond was an American radio personality.
The Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra was an orchestra that played primarily at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, both the old and new locations. In addition to providing dinner music at the famous hotel, the orchestra made over 300 recordings and many radio broadcasts. It was established in the 1890s, and was directed by Carlo Curti in early 1900s, Joseph Knecht at least from 1908 to 1925, later by Jack Denny and others, and then Xavier Cugat from approximately 1933 to 1949.
Clara, Lu, 'n Em is a radio soap opera, which first aired on June 16, 1930, over WGN-AM Chicago, Illinois. The show was picked up by the NBC Blue radio network and premiered at 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time on January 27, 1931. Thus, it became the first nationally broadcast radio soap opera. When Clara, Lu 'n Em was moved to a regular daytime time slot on February 15, 1932, it became the first networked daytime soap opera.
General Motors Concerts, offering classical music on the radio, were heard in different formats on the NBC Red and NBC Blue networks between 1929 and 1937. The concerts began 1929-31 as a 30-minute series on the Red Network with Frank Black as the musical conductor on Mondays at 9:30pm. It also aired as General Motors Family Party.
Thomas Llyfnwy Thomas was a Welsh American baritone concert singer who achieved fame for his performances both in concert halls and on television and radio, most notably on The Voice of Firestone, where he was the most frequently featured singer. His concert repertoire included lieder, opera arias, ballads, spirituals and songs from musical theatre and operetta.
Rising Musical Stars was a musical radio program broadcast by NBC on Sunday nights at 10pm for a half year (1937–38). It was sometimes listed as Rising Stars. It followed Manhattan Merry-Go-Round and The American Album of Familiar Music, and this trio of programs brought the weekend to a close with 90 minutes of Sunday evening concerts.
The DuPont Show of the Week is an American television anthology drama series that aired on NBC from September 17, 1961 to September 6, 1964. During its time on the air, the program "was NBC's late Sunday evening 'class' showcase".
Kitty Foyle is an American old-time radio and television soap opera originally aired during the 1940s and 1950s that was based on the 1940 film of the same name starring Ginger Rogers. Kitty Foyle was created by soap opera mogul Irna Phillips of Guiding Light fame and produced by daytime radio monarchs Frank and Anne Hummert of Helen Trent recognition. The program originally starred Julie Stevens in the title role of Kitty Foyle on radio. On television, the title role was portrayed by Kathleen Murray.
Edward Frank Hummert, Jr., professionally known as Frank Hummert and sometimes credited as E. Frank Hummert, was an American advertising agent originally but was best known for writing/producing episodes of nearly 100 daytime/primetime radio dramas and soap opera serials between the 1930s and the 1950s.